Financial Ombudsman Service says conduct by some firms in sector has been unacceptable

The finance industry’s adjudicator has criticised the “unacceptable” behaviour of some payday lenders after a 130% rise in complaints, which it said goes beyond the practices of recently collapsed industry leader Wonga.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said the surge contributed to a 14% rise in complaints across the financial sector, which reached a five-year high of 388,392 over the 12 months to March.